Friday, October 4, 2013

DIY: Yep We Can

There were about 3 inches of dead leaves on one side of the lawn, which was killing the trees. On the other side was some struggling grass, but most of it looked like this:

So I raked up the 3-inch layer of decaying leaves:

I filled 40 bags of leaves. Yes. 40.

Then I had a heyday with mulch:

Yep, that's about 40 bags of much you see there. The trees are happy now.

I also covered the bald dirt with mulch and lugged out some red brick barriers:

Then, because I have a son who loves to play outside, and because it reminded me of those glorious Camp Fire Girls days, I made this stone and pebble path, with chopped wood from the back yard. (We had to chop down some trees to make room for a shed in back.)

I'm tired.

Funny story about those pea gravel pebbles: I went to Living Earth, which is a bulk supplier in Plano. They brought out a tractor with the front bucket filled to the brim with pea gravel. One cubic yard filled the entire bed. I drove home going about thirty miles an hour on the highway, praying my back tires wouldn't blow out. My truck was wearing plumber's pants, it was sagging so low. But we made it. And now we have a path to skip along.

And... a new patio on cement that was freshly poured last week:

Except for pouring the cement patio, I did this front yard project with woman-power, all by myself. Yep, ladies. Yep we can.